Wet cleaning of household surfaces has long been done manually using a wet mop or sponge. The mop or sponge is dipped into a container filled with a cleaning fluid to allow the mop or sponge to absorb an amount of the cleaning fluid. The mop or sponge is then moved over the surface to apply a cleaning fluid onto the surface. The cleaning fluid interacts with contaminants on the surface and may dissolve or otherwise emulsify contaminants into the cleaning fluid. The cleaning fluid is therefore transformed into a waste liquid that includes the cleaning fluid and contaminants held in suspension within the cleaning fluid. Thereafter, the sponge or mop is used to absorb the waste liquid from the surface. While clean water is somewhat effective for use as a cleaning fluid applied to household surfaces, most cleaning is done with a cleaning fluid that is a mixture of clean water and soap or detergent that reacts with contaminants to emulsify the contaminants into the water. In addition, it is known to clean household surfaces with water and detergent mixed with other agents such as a solvent, a fragrance, a disinfectant, a drying agent, abrasive particulates and the like to increase the effectiveness of the cleaning process.
The sponge or mop may also be used as a scrubbing element for scrubbing the floor surface, and especially in areas where contaminants are particularly difficult to remove from the household surface. The scrubbing action serves to agitate the cleaning fluid for mixing with contaminants as well as to apply a friction force for loosening contaminants from the floor surface. Agitation enhances the dissolving and emulsifying action of the cleaning fluid and the friction force helps to break bonds between the surface and contaminants.
After cleaning an area of the floor surface, the waste liquid must be rinsed from the mop or sponge. This is typically done by dipping the mop or sponge back into the container filled with cleaning fluid. The rinsing step contaminates the cleaning fluid with waste liquid and the cleaning fluid becomes more contaminated each time the mop or sponge is rinsed. As a result, the effectiveness of the cleaning fluid deteriorates as more of the floor surface area is cleaned.
Some manual floor cleaning devices have a handle with a cleaning fluid supply container supported on the handle and a scrubbing sponge at one end of the handle. These devices include a cleaning fluid dispensing nozzle supported on the handle for spraying cleaning fluid onto the floor. These devices also include a mechanical device for wringing waste liquid out of the scrubbing sponge and into a waste container.
Manual methods of cleaning floors can be labor intensive and time consuming. Thus, in many large buildings, such as hospitals, large retail stores, cafeterias, and the like, floors are wet cleaned on a daily or nightly basis. Industrial floor cleaning “robots” capable of wet cleaning floors have been developed. To implement wet cleaning techniques required in large industrial areas, these robots are typically large, costly, and complex. These robots have a drive assembly that provides a motive force to autonomously move the wet cleaning device along a cleaning path. However, because these industrial-sized wet cleaning devices weigh hundreds of pounds, these devices are usually attended by an operator. For example, an operator can turn off the device and, thus, avoid significant damage that can arise in the event of a sensor failure or an unanticipated control variable. As another example, an operator can assist in moving the wet cleaning device to physically escape or navigate among confined areas or obstacles.